Good morning! Nice headwear, BG.
The Cowboys beat the Raiders easily in their second Monday Night Football game in three weeks for some reason. Are we sure we are getting Chip Kelly’s untriumhpant return to The Linc in a few weeks? Chip is the highest paid coordinator in the NFL, and the Raiders offense is basically the 30th-best offense in the league.
There is a lesson here, kids: Stop hiring coordinators based on what they do at Ohio State. I could coordinate Ohio State! Matt Patricia is running roughshod through college football this year at Ohio State!
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As always, you can reach me at [email protected]
Fitting in
First, a quick note about the Cardiac Sixers after their 110-108 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Clutch time in the NBA is officially defined as a game that gets below five points with five or less minutes to go. If you hit those thresholds at any point, you have played in a “clutch game.” And the time when the score remains under five points either way is defined as “clutch time.”
Well, the Cardiac Sixers are living in clutch time.
11 of the Sixers’ 13 games have been clutch games, which is tied for first in the league with Dallas, a team that has played two more games than the Sixers. Nobody has played as many close games than the Sixers.
The Sixers have an excellent +38.1 net rating in clutch time, which is third in the NBA. So, the Sixers play a lot of close games and they play well in the most important moments.
The Sixers are now 7-4 in clutch games, after James Harden bricked two potential game-winners.
Did Quentin Grimes, who forced Harden into a classic Bad Harden Half (2-16 from the floor after halftime!), foul Harden on one of those final shots? Yes, he basically admitted it. Oh well, that’s a shame.
Wonder if Harden ended up on Spring Garden after the game. Anyway, Kyle’s observations are here. The post-game pod is here.
Outside of the Cardiac Sixers, Paul George made his season debut. The most important thing? George looked good physically in 21 minutes, finishing with seven rebounds and two blocks. PG even skied for a couple of contested rebounds. He is really gonna help a Sixers team that lacks size on the wing, especially now that Kelly Oubre Jr. is out.
The bad news? PG was understandably rusty on the offensive end, finishing 2-9 from the field. I certainly enjoyed watching him play defense more than offense in Monday night’s win, which in fairness, was true of the entire Sixers team. Nick Nurse needs to focus on how to attack physical, switching defenses. The Sixers’ halfcourt offense has been stinky over the past week.
But back to George, I have found the reaction to him locally pretty interesting. For many Philly fans, it seems like there is an apathy to watching him play. Not all of them, some diehard Sixers fans just want the most talent on the floor as possible. But a large portion of the Philly fan base seems to be good with simply watching the Sixers’ young players develop, which as we have seen over the past week, is gonna have its ups and downs. For example, Justin Edwards singlehandedly won the Sixers a game against Boston a week ago and was legitimately unplayable last night. VJ Edgecombe has plenty of rookie moments, too.
Anyway, apathy is not a good place to be for a guy who has three years and $162 million left on his contract. But hey, that is what happens when your most memorable moment in Philadelphia is getting stuck in a crowd of people when you drive right down Broad Street hours after the Eagles win the NFC Championship Game.
The contract is a sunk cost at this point. But unlike Tobias Harris, whose contract served as an anchor on the Sixers’ books for a half-decade, George has the the skill-set to be an additive player while not needing the ball in his hands. He can bomb 3s off the catch, play versatile defense and playmake a little bit as well.
But the key for George, at least initially, is gonna be fitting into the groundwork that Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe have laid this year. Less Iso PG, more keep the ball moving. Do that, and I think George can be a super helpful player, the type of guy that cements the Sixers as a playoff team. And then, hey, maybe George starts to have some legitimate moments in Philadelphia.
Time to start chipping away at the apathy, PG.
And if you want to read more on George’s return, Kyle has more below.
Reading Terminal Market
It’s that time of year again!
Yet again, we will be at Reading Terminal Market for a full day of shows next Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Always a fun time, always some excellent food (and maybe a few adult beverages poured) as we head into the long holiday weekend. There is a roast pork sandwich from DiNic’s and some banana pudding from Sweet Nina’s with my name written all over it.
Especially if you work in the city, hang out with us! Even if it’s on your lunch break, a lot of our staff will just be hanging around. So much good food at Reading Terminal Market.
Lane Johnson, out for a while: See you in the playoffs, Lane.
As EJ reported on yesterday’s Eagles show, a Lisfranc sprain (mid-foot sprain) is typically a 4-6 week injury. Lane, who missed large swaths of the last two games (first with the ankle injury against Green Bay, and then this Lisfranc injury), is probably headed for IR.
For years, Lane missing any length of time has felt like a legitimate crisis. How many times have we seen “The Eagles Record With/Without Lane Johnson” graphic on the game broadcasts? And I am not saying Lane injuring his foot is a good thing. But this does not quite feel like a crisis, for a few reasons. Reason No. 1…
Hell yeah, Fred
Remember when Big Fred came in for Lane (well, Lane and then Matt Pryor) against the Rams? This offense can function with Fred Johnson at tackle.
Reason No. 2, the Eagles offense stinks right now. This is not a team that is putting up 30 every week and winning shootout after shootout. They scored 26 combined points the last two weeks (something they have only done twice in consecutive wins since 1950), and in the case of last night’s game, they were handed 13 drives and some of the best field position you will ever see by their defense. It’s pathetic! This unit’s issues are greater than one player.
Reason No. 3, the schedule is about to lighten up. Here are the Eagles’ next five games: At Dallas, Chicago, at LA Chargers, Las Vegas, at Washington. They will continue to play close games until the offense gets its 💩 together, but objectively, The Gauntlet portion of their schedule is over. Some decent edge-rushers (Maxx Crosby, Khalil Mack, Montez Sweat) mixed in there, but not a murderer’s row either.
And Reason No. 4, rest will do Lane some good. Lane is 35 years old, a two-time Super Bowl champ and a future Hall of Famer. But he gets dinged up a good bit, and like his old running mate, he is on the old Jason Peters Plan. Just this year, Lane has dealt with neck, shoulder, ankle and now foot issues. Despite appearing in every game so far, Lane has only played 74 percent of the snaps this season. He has missed significant chunks of four games. And that’s fine! Probably to be expected, even. Lane has a lot of miles on him.
Instead of Lane gutting through an injury, now he gets a month to rest up. Remember in 2022, when Lane tore his abdominal on Christmas Eve in Dallas? He missed the final two regular season games, but he delayed surgery and gutted through three playoff games. Warrior. Anyway, it seems like he does not need to do that this time around.
Rest up, Lane. We will see you in late December or January.
Three awesome defensive plays: Monday means a Franny Films breakdown on the Eagles Show, and guys, I am giving myself a day off from bitching about the offense. Trust me, I feel the same way you all do. The bitch fest about the offense is coming. Just not today.
But in honor of this wonderful defense, Fran did a great job of breaking down three awesome plays. He broke down the offense, too, if you can stomach it.
The Jaelan Phillips sack: Last week, Jalyx Hunt had a sack on a play which Phillips had the most impressive rep. Well, this week, Phillips had a sack on a play which Jalen Carter had the most impressive rep. Nice little change-up by Uncle Vic to have Phillips essentially chip Amon-Ra St. Brown in the slot, and then rush Jared Goff. Penei Sewell was confused.
The Adoree’ pass break-up: Uncle Vic plays a lot of Cover-6. Without getting too wonky, that means one outside corner has safety help over the top and the other one is more or less on an island. Normally, the Eagles give Adoree’ Jackson that safety help and leave Quinyon Mitchell one-on-one on the back side. But on a big third down, Uncle Vic threw a change-up and left Adoree’ on an island. And when Dan Campbell called a play that he thought would beat the coverage with a safety over the top, Adoree’ held up!
Jalen Carter, pointing out plays: We highlighted Moro Ojomo’s crystal ball routine at Lambeau, but Jalen Carter called out where Jahmyr Gibbs was running on a key 4th and 1. And BG made an underrated smart play on that one as well.
Lots of comparisons between last year’s defense and this current defense, which I am all for. I would say that the big difference, so far post-bye, is that this group feels more balanced with the addition of Jaelan Phillips, emergence of Moro Ojomo and improvement of Jordan Davis. Outside of the Super Bowl, last year’s defense felt like it was built much more back-to-front… especially when compared to most Eagles defenses of recent vintage, that were built around the pass-rush.
It’s also tough to know where to give credit in some situations. For example, Uncle Vic has the single highest approval rating in Philadelphia. He is so flexible in how he combats opposing offenses, it’s amazing. Uncle Vic also clearly has his players incredibly well drilled. But the Eagles defense also has a bunch of football geniuses out there. Carter clearly understands blocking schemes at a high level. Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun both have their PhDs in linebacking. Cooper DeJean understands underneath zone coverages and run fits better than 99 percent of defensive backs. Brandon Graham is one of the smartest defensive ends I’ve ever seen, running a screen pass to his side is always a mistake.
You know what, why don’t we just give them all credit?
The Early Bird gets the worm: From the locker room, EJ has more on the struggling offense and thriving defense.
Especially considering the Eagles defense gifted the offense three drives starting in plus territory after failed fourth-down attempts from Detroit, the lack of production is hard to look past for such a talented group still lacking an identity 11 weeks into the season.
“We have to do a bit of identifying who we are so we can find consistency in something and go out there and execute at a high level,” Hurts said. “There was a lot of encouragement coming into the bye week and where we were. Still a ton of room to improve, but you know what I feel about momentum, it can begin and end at any moment. But as I told you guys last week, is it half full or half empty? … Nothing takes over the precedent of winning.”
D-Gunn report: Yes, I saw it. We will talk about it tomorrow, when we talk about the offense.
Bonk and Risto return to the ice: Busy practice day in Voorhees.
As Charlie pointed out in his practice notes, Oliver Bonk skated with the big group with a non-contact jersey. Bonky is gonna join his buddy Barkey with the Phantoms when he is ready to actually play, but this seemed like a reward for rehabbing the upper-body injury that has kept him out since camp.
And Rasmus Ristolainen was skating alone prior to practice, per Pucks Hall. Risto is still on the shelf after undergoing surgery on his right triceps tendon back in March. The general timeline that was given for his return was late November, early December.
Trader Danny strikes: The Flyers made a deal, sending Dennis Gilbert to Ottawa. Seems like Rick Tocchet likes Noah Juulsen more as a depth defenseman signing. Charlie has more below on the guy the Orange and Black got back, Maxence Guénette.
James Franklin, Virgina Tech head coach: So, Penn State pays Franklin $9 million instead of $49 million. I am plugging that into my calculator, and yes, that seems like a better deal for them.
It will be interesting to see what this means for the Nittany Lions, as Franklin cleaned up in recruiting the DMV and Virginia during his tenure in State College. Trace McSorley and Kaytron Allen are two of the more recent success stories from that pipeline. Maybe Franklin can recruit some of them to Blacksburg? I love me some “Enter Sandman” Virginia Tech videos.
That said, I wonder if this all matters much in the era of NIL.
Ashley Fan Cave Contest
Picture this: a fan cave that actually feels like your dream setup. Thanks to Ashley, that could be real. We’re giving away a $2,500 Ashley Furniture Gift Card! Go big on a sectional, add some stylish pieces, or trick out your space for game day. All up to you. Just visit ashleyfancave.com, see if you're eligible, fill out the form, and you’re entered.
It’s that simple. Enter now and you might be watching the next big game in a fan cave built by you, courtesy of Ashley.
No Flyers and no Sixers today. I promise, you will get that long-awaited Phillies update in tomorrow’s newsletter! Lots of baseball tomorrow.
Your tentative Tuesday schedule at PHLY:
🎙️ The Anthony Gargano Show: 9:00 a.m.
🎙️ Billadelphia: 1:30 p.m.
🦅 Eagles: 2:00 p.m.
🏀 Sixers: 3:00 p.m.
🏒 Flyers: 4:00 p.m.
Let's make it a good one.
Rich Hofmann
Daily Newsletter Editor
PHLY SPORTS
